


Finals

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21763219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex gets the stomach flu during finals week.
Kudos: 7





	Finals

**Author's Note:**

> This is a request! It is kind of a second part to "Roommates" but you don't have to read that to understand this story.

Over the last two months, Alex and Jack gone from being awkward roommates to close friends. Jack getting sick ended up bringing them closer together, and it allowed them to develop a real friendship that made college a lot more enjoyable for the both of them. They ate meals together, grocery shopped together, partied together, and helped each other through any stress that their classes caused them.   
It was now December, and that meant one thing- finals. They were both a bit nervous about them, since they’d never experienced a college finals week before, but they were glad that they could rely on each other to manage their stress and anxiety. Alex’s first final was on a Friday, then he would have more in the first half of the next week before he could go home for the holidays. They had a university wide study day the day before, and Alex spent almost all of it in the library.   
Over the course of the day, he slowly started to feel a bit off. he felt worn out, and his stomach didn’t feel quite right, but he figured that this was just some anxiety building up for the final that he had at eight the next morning. It was for his business class, and this was a big deal for him, because it would make or break his grade to a degree. He didn’t do too well on one of the tests and a big presentation, so this test would determine what grade he would get overall for the semester.   
He stayed in the library studying until midnight and knew that he’d have to walk back to his dorm since the campus shuttle didn’t run that late. After he packed up his things, he started his walk back. It was only about ten minutes, but it was so cold outside that it made him feel worse. Once he got back to his dorm, he quickly went up to the fifth floor, and into his room.  
“Hey man, you’re back late,” Jack said once Alex walked in. He was already in his bed, looking at something on his phone.  
“Yeah, I know. I’ve been studying for my business final I have tomorrow morning, for, like, all day,” Alex replied, still shivering from his walk back.  
“Don’t stress too much, you’ll just overwhelm yourself. Also, are you shivering?” Jack asked back.  
“A bit, it’s really cold and I had to walk all the way here from the library,” Alex explained.   
“I see, that is kind of a long walk. I think you should take a hot shower, then get some rest. That’s your only final for tomorrow, right?” Jack continued.  
“Yeah, thank god. It’s my most stress inducing one,” Alex replied.  
“Well, I don’t have any exams tomorrow, so once you’re done with yours, maybe we can grab lunch somewhere to celebrate that you’re forever done with business, and never have to take that shit again,” Jack suggested.  
“I’d really like that. Thanks, Jack,” Alex replied with a small smile.  
“No problem, man. Now, go warm up, then get to sleep so you’re well rested, so you can kill that final tomorrow,” Jack replied. Alex grabbed some PJs then went into the bathroom.   
After a quick rinse, he got dressed and turned out the overhead light before climbing into his bed. He still felt a bit cold, so he put an extra blanket over himself, and pulled it up as far as he could. He noticed that his stomach still hurt some. After shifting between quite a few positions, he found one that didn’t make his stomach hurt too badly and drifted off to sleep.  
\-----------------------  
The next time that Alex woke up, it was to his seven o’clock alarm, and to a prominent ache in his stomach, a worse version of what he’d had the night before. Instead of getting up right away like he normally would, he decided to stay in bed for a few minutes to give his stomach some time to settle.   
As he laid in bed, he realized that his bed was wet, and that he was sweating profusely. He wondered how this could be, since he was so cold that he was shivering. As he was starting to realize what was going on, his stomach twisted painfully. He took deep breaths in attempt to calm it, but quickly realized that it wasn’t working, and that he needed to get to the bathroom quickly.   
He got out of his bed and sprinted to the bathroom with a hand over his mouth. He slammed the door shut before kneeling on the floor. Seconds later, he started to get sick. He wrapped his arms around his stomach as he continued to puke.  
“Not today of al days,” Alex muttered to himself once he finally stopped. Deciding that he was done, at least for now, he slowly got to his feet and walked out of the bathroom, with a hand on his stomach since it still hurt. When he got back into the main room, he saw Jack sitting up in his bed.  
“Did I wake you? I’m sorry,” Alex said as he carefully sat on the couch, his hand still on his stomach.  
“You did, but don’t worry about it. Are you sick? You didn’t sound too good in there,” Jack asked, joining his friend on the couch.  
“I think I am. I felt kind of off yesterday, but I figured that it was just nerves, but it looks like I was wrong. I’m freezing and sweating, my body hurts, and my stomach is killing me,” Alex explained, sounding frustrated.   
“I think you have the stomach flu, man. I had everything you just listed when I had it a couple months ago. So, are you going to email your professor and ask to make up the exam?” Jack continued.  
“Hell no, I’m still going to take it,” Alex replied.  
“Alex, you seem miserable, and you have the stomach flu, which means you’ll get sick a lot and not have a lot of control over it. It might be a good idea to just rest today and this weekend,” Jack tried.  
“You have a good point, but my professor made it very clear that if we didn’t email her, like, a week in advance, we wouldn’t get to make up the final, and it’ll be a zero. I can’t afford that, I need to take this test and do well on it,” Alex explained.  
“Well, I think that’s a dick move by your professor, but I get it, a couple of mine are like that, too. When you’re done with your test, the two of us can have a nice, relaxing day together so you can start to get better and be fine for all of the other exams that you have next week,” Jack replied.  
“You really want to spend your day off doing that?” Alex asked.  
“Sure, you did the same for me when I was sick. I’ll stay awake while you’re gone, so you can text me if you need anything,” Jack said.  
“You’re the best, thanks, man,” Alex said with a small smile.  
“No problem. I’ll stop bothering you so you can get ready and get this test over with,” Jack replied, getting back into his bed. Alex slowly got himself ready, he felt the pain in his stomach intensify, but did his best to ignore it.   
After grabbing some anti-nausea medicine and saying goodbye to Jack, Alex went downstairs. Right as he got outside, the campus shuttle pulled up, much to his relief; he knew the cold December weather would do nothing to help with his chills. The bus ride to the main campus made Alex’s stomach churn, since there were quite a few speed bumps along the way.   
Once it got to the building where Alex’s exam was, he quickly got off of the bus and sat on a bench outside, hoping to calm his stomach some. Luckily, he was able to calm himself, but being outside made his chills worse. He hugged himself for warmth as he went inside and to his classroom.   
He didn’t really have any friends in his class, which he was happy about right now, since talking made him feel sicker. Alex quickly took the anti-nausea medicine that he’d brought with him as his professor began to pass out the exam. Luckily, Alex’s studying had paid off, because he felt very confident about most of what was on the test.   
As time went on, the small font that the questions were in made Alex’s head hurt, which made him feel sicker to his stomach. He tried to take small sips of water and deep breaths to calm himself, but nothing seemed to be working. He was about halfway through his last essay question when his stomach started to churn painfully, and he knew that he was about to get sick again.   
His professor said that they could only leave the room once they were completely done, since they would not be allowed back in, so Alex finished up the sentence that he was on and grabbed his things before walking over to his professor’s desk.  
“Thank you, Alex. Have a great holiday,” his professor said as she took the exam.  
“You too,” he choked out, not wanting to say anymore, fearing that if he did, he would get sick right there. He quickly made his way out of the classroom and to the bathroom that was down the hall. He took the handicapped stall so he could bring his backpack in with him and started to get sick as soon as he sat on the ground.   
A mix of frustration and pain made tears appear in his eyes, and he wiped them away as he sat against the side of the stall once he was done. After a couple more minutes, Alex decided that he was ready to go back to his dorm. He grabbed his stuff and cleaned himself up some before walking back outside.   
The shuttle came at just the right time again, to Alex’s delight. He was a bit nervous to ride it, since it made him feel pretty bad the first time, but he figured that it would be better than the cold, fifteen-minute walk he’d have to take if he refused the bus. He got on and shut his eyes as the bus pulled away, concentrating on not getting sick again.   
Once the bus arrived at his dorm, the intense pain he’d felt earlier had come back, and he decided to sprint upstairs to his room and deal with it there, since sitting outside didn’t go very well for him the first time. He put his hand on his stomach as he walked inside, and quickly noticed a sign by the elevator saying that it wasn’t working.  
“Fuck me,” Alex muttered as he walked to the stairwell and started to make his way to the fifth floor. By the time he got to his room, he felt more worn out, and he knew that it was only a matter of time until he got sick again. Instead of going to the bathroom, he sat on the couch and wrapped his arms around his stomach as he hunched over himself.  
“Alex, are you okay?” Jack asked, jumping off his bed to sit next to Alex on the couch.  
“I f-f-feel like I’m going to-“ Alex cut himself off with a gag and put a hand over his mouth. Jack quickly grabbed the trashcan that he’d emptied while Alex was gone for this exact reason and handed it to his friend.   
Seconds later, Alex started getting sick into it. Jack rubbed Alex’s back as he got sick, noticing how warm he felt. After a few minutes, Alex set the trashcan down and leaned up against the couch.  
“This has been the third fucking time I’ve gotten sick today,” Alex groaned.  
“Well, you are pretty sick right now. The same thing happened to me the first day I had this. I can go take care of this,” Jack said, pointing to the trashcan.   
“I don’t want to make you do that. I should’ve just gone to the bathroom,” Alex said, sounding a bit embarrassed.   
“You just change into something comfier than what you’re wearing. And don’t worry about it, you’re sick, this shit happens. Now, get comfortable and we’ll watch a movie,” Jack replied. Once he was in the bathroom, Alex heard the shower water run.   
He quickly changed into his PJs and grabbed his pillow and blanket from his bed before sitting back on the couch. Jack came back a few minutes later and set the trashcan back by Alex.  
“Thank you for doing that, sorry that it was probably pretty gross,” Alex said as Jack sat next to him on the couch.  
“Don’t apologize, it’s okay. Now, let’s find something to watch. Well, something for me to watch, and something for you to hopefully fall asleep to,” Jack replied, turning on the TV. After a bit of channel surfing, they agreed on the first Hangover movie.  
“Hey Jack, thanks for being such a good friend, I’m glad we decided to be roommates,” Alex said as he got comfortable and shut his eyes.  
“I’m glad we’re roommates, too. Now, get some rest,” Jack replied as they both smiled some. Not even five minutes later, Alex was fast asleep.   
Alex felt fine again in a couple of days and was even able to study for his Monday exam for a bit on Sunday afternoon. Jack spent most of Friday and Saturday with Alex, watching movies with him, helping him when he got sick, and doing whatever he could to help his friend feel less miserable.   
Jack was glad he could return the favor that Alex had done for him a couple months earlier, and both boys were glad that they took a chance by rooming with each other, since it ended up being great for both of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This was requested on my Tumblr by the same person who requested the story I posted a few days ago, Roommates! It's kind of a part two, which is something I've actually never done before! The reason I made Alex struggle in his business class in this, is because that is the final I have tomorrow morning, and I made Alex's situation mirror mine in my business class. (I actually based quite a few things off of my campus/dorm in this). I've gotten a few more requests now that I've been working on, but always feel free to send them in, I'd love to add more ideas to my request list! Thank you so much for reading, it means a lot. Lots of love, Liv.


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